A group of Carlisle Ambassadors are planning to walk all the way from our fine city to Parliament to raise our profile on the national stage.

Between 8 and 10 people from Carlisle Ambassadors are undertaking the 320 mile trip by foot next May.

They’re hoping it’ll encourage companies to invest in the city and will help put Carlisle on the map.

Matthew Bond, of Cito Cleaning, is one of the men who came up with the idea and says the city needs more recognition:

“As a local business owner, I have some customers outside the city who often say ‘Where’s Carlisle? Is that in Wales? Is that near Scotch Corner?’ and it was important for me to say no, we’re near the Lake District – this is where we are and this is how good we are.”

The group are planning events every three days along the route based on development, education, health and investment. They’ll also be raising sponsorship to fund local community projects.

Matthew says it’s an important cause to all the businesses involved:

“Our aim is to improve the local area, get more jobs, more investment, better infrastructure, and basically get ourselves noticed on the map in the United Kingdom.”